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- MB&F has unveiled the HM12 The Guardian, a CHF 280,000 (AUD $500,000) watch that clips onto a 38cm robot body
- The titanium wristwatch features a flying tourbillon, jumping hours, trailing minutes and a mechanical face shield
- Only 36 examples will be made, split across Green, Blue and Purple editions of 12 pieces each
MB&F has unveiled the Horological Machine N°12 The Guardian, a CHF 280,000 (AUD $500,000) watch that detaches from its strap, clips onto a 38cm robot body and looks as if Sonny from I, Robot and a Michael Bay Transformer made a horological baby.
It’s the kind of thing you’d expect to find in a preschool scrapbook. Over the past two decades, the Swiss independent has built much of its watchmaking identity around the line “a creative adult is a child who survived”, turning childhood sketches, sci-fi hardware and mechanical daydreams into properly serious timepieces.
With the HM12 Guardian, MB&F started with a very obvious question (at least by MB&F standards): What if a robot’s head were also a watch?
Turning a Robot’s Head Into a Watch
Down that particular horological rabbit hole sits a titanium wristwatch that can be worn normally, then popped off its strap and mounted directly onto The Guardian, a 38.2cm robot made by L’Epée 1839.
It’s outrageous inside and out. But beneath the robotic face, there’s some serious watchmaking that even the most orthodox watch-lover can appreciate.
Across the full build, MB&F says the combined unit comprises nearly 1,500 components. Only three editions will be made, with 12 pieces each in Green, Blue and Purple. Pricing is set at CHF 280,000, which works out to roughly AUD $500,000.
So if you’ve got half a mil lying around, don’t buy a robot. Buy the HM12 Guardian instead. Your inner child will thank you.
MB&F HM12 The Guardian Key Specs
- Price: CHF 280,000, roughly AUD $500,000
- Availability: By enquiry through MB&F
- Limited edition: 36 pieces total, split across Green, Blue and Purple editions of 12 pieces each
- Case: Grade 5 titanium
- Watch dimensions: 49.3mm long x 43.6mm wide x 13.8mm high
- Movement: In-house automatic movement with double-winding rotor
- Power reserve: 84 hours
- Movement components: 646
- Jewels: 86
- Functions: Flying tourbillon, instantaneous jumping hours, trailing minutes, mechanical face shield
- Crystal: Sapphire crystals on the top, back and tourbillon chamber display
- Strap: Quick-release system with Velcro fastening
- Guardian robot: Manufactured by L’Epée 1839
- Robot dimensions: 22cm diameter x 38.2cm high, including base
- Robot weight: Approx. 15kg, including base
- Robot features: Mechanical thermometer, integrated magnifying glass, UV torch and hidden strap drawer
- Total components: Nearly 1,500 across the full watch and robot build
MB&F HM12 The Guardian: A Watch That Stares Back
MB&F has designed the HM12 as a face, making the whole thing as unsettling as it is impressive.
The time display sits where the eyes would be, so every glance feels a little more confrontational than it probably should. On the left, there’s an instantaneous jumping-hour disc. On the right, there’s a trailing-minutes disc. Both are read from fixed points while the discs rotate, which means the watch doesn’t just show the time. It stares back while doing it.
Below that, where the mouth would be, sits one side of the double-sided micro-rotor, shaped like the MB&F battle-axe logo. Above that is the flying tourbillon positioned as the robot’s brain, and exposed through the top of the case.
The watch also features a mechanical face shield, controlled by the left crown. Turn it, and the shields move across the dial in a smooth, linear motion, letting the wearer decide how much of the face stays visible. Once the shields reach their stop, the crown de-clutches. Very robotic indeed.
The Robot Isn’t Just a Stand
MB&F takes the childlike thinking even further with the Guardian body. The watch and robot are intended as one object, with the body built around the watch rather than added as a display base.
Once the watch is detached from the strap via the quick-release system, it clips directly onto the robot’s head. The strap is then stored inside a hidden drawer in the base for the Guardian to watch over.
The Guardian itself is a 755-component mechanical object manufactured by L’Epée 1839. It comes with a mechanical thermometer, an integrated magnifying glass on the right arm and a UV torch on the left. With the base included, it measures 22cm across and weighs about 15kg.
The Serious Watchmaking Under the Robot Face
As for the HM12, that’s housed in a Grade 5 titanium case measuring 49.3mm long, 43.6mm wide and 13.8mm high. It gets Super-LumiNova highlights, mobile lugs at 12 o’clock, fixed lugs at 6 o’clock and three sapphire crystals across the top, back and tourbillon chamber display.
Inside is an in-house automatic movement with a double-winding rotor, an 84-hour power reserve, 646 components and 86 jewels.
Inside is an in-house automatic movement with a double-winding rotor and an 84-hour power reserve. From the back, HM12 becomes a more traditional piece of high-end watchmaking. The movement follows the shape of the case, with hand-finished bridges, a grained mainplate and a guilloché rear rotor made with the involvement of Kari Voutilainen and his team.
So yes, from the front it looks like sci-fi nonsense. Turn it over, and the craft giving this robot life is on full display.
MB&F HM12 The Guardian Price and Availability
The MB&F HM12 The Guardian is available in Green, Blue and Purple, with each colour limited to 12 pieces. That makes 36 pieces in total.
Pricing is set at CHF 280,000, or roughly AUD $500,000, though the watch is only available by enquiry through MB&F.
It’s an absurd price for an absurd watch that pushes childlike wonder to the very boundaries of what a watch could be. It takes the silly question seriously, then answers it with a flying tourbillon, a robot body, a face shield and the unsettling ability to stare straight back at you.
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